Loan financing, especially long term bank loan financing, is important for young or small firms in Germany. A large share of all small business lending in Germany originates in public financing programs and cooperative banks, (non-cooperative) private sector credit banks as well as savings banks...

We analyze how an entry regulation that imposes a mandatory educational standard affects entry into self-employment and occupational mobility. We exploit the German reunification as a natural experiment and identify regulatory effects by comparing differences between regulated occupations and...